Managed decline on fossil fuels urged by global groups

More than 200 global organisations have joined forces to call for a rapid transition to a low carbon world.

Under the Lofoten Declaration, the organisations argue it is the “urgent responsibility and moral obligation” of fossil fuel producers to take the lead in managing the decline of existing production.

The agreement, named after an archipelago in Norway where drilling by the oil industry has been successfully blocked by environmental groups, calls for "unprecedented action to avoid the worst consequences of our dependence on oil, coal, and gas."

It argues that new oil and gas exploration and production are incompatible with limiting global warming to well below 2ºC and that countries that do not embrace clean energy will soon be left behind:

‘Opportunity more than burden’

“A global transition to a low carbon future is already well underway. Continued expansion of oil, coal, and gas is only serving to hinder the inevitable transition while at the same time exacerbating conflicts, fuelling corruption, threatening biodiversity, clean water and air, and infringing on the rights of

Indigenous Peoples and vulnerable communities,” the declaration says.

Although the organisations say they recognise that a full transition away from fossil fuels will take decades, they also believe the shift is an opportunity more than a burden.

“We are in a deep hole with climate. We must begin by not digging ourselves any deeper,” it adds.